Citing spiritual and moral crisis, Russia aims to flatten its youth's social landscape.

The dying phenomenon of the college yearbook.

Truly intelligent people know how to improvise well. Academics don't. The problem with memory-based education.

The flag pin was popularized by Richard Nixon, who got the idea after seeing Robert Redford wear one in a movie.

Tracking the African economy with the changing price of a bottle of Coca-Cola.

"[The chicken] was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive." An Olympic disaster guide.

Why the media's fascination with the pregnant man isn't helping transgender politics.

Now dogs can have nine lives too--an interview with a biotech entrepreneur and his cloned pets.

David Cronenberg's The Fly is made into an opera (finally).

How to make a 12-sided-die purse.

As olive oil, mozzarella costs soar, Italians eschew pizza, chew pasta.

Artist walks 100 miles to complete massive drawing in sand.

Beyond SNAFU: bad military acronyms.

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Colombian soldiers infiltrate rebels, liberate 15 hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt.

How the raid was carried out; visiting Colombia, McCain was briefed beforehand.

How the Republicans took over "patriotism"--blame pastels in 1988.

"They are not really interested in fighting the battles that have been fought over the last 20 years." As baby boomers retire, campuses go moderate.

Conservative critics divided over whether a cartoon robot is mongering liberalism or proving them right.

Al Qaeda's strength may depend on free advertising by world governments.

Op: Voters do not care how uninformed they are--even if it constitutes a threat to national security.

Somewhere in Cheshire is a seriously melancholy thief. Ian Curtis's headstone stolen.

Oil hits record high of $146 a barrel; oil-rich countries turn to coal.

Which is more economical: Using your car's air conditioning or driving with the windows down?

Next to Nadal, one part sweatband, three parts biceps, the Scot looked like a lanky adolescent who had taken the wrong door.

Polygamist sect responds to public demand, begins selling children's versions of its modest prairie dresses.

"The minute you put the logo on it, it becomes a New Yorker cover." Rea Irvin and his defining typeface.

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Netroots supporters revolt over Obama's flip on surveillance, organize protest using tools on campaign web site.

African-American actor who played president on 24 believes his portrayal may have helped Obama.

Starbucks to close 600 stores; The Onion called it five months ago.

Michael Reagan pushes for a monument of his dad in Berlin, concedes pantyhose's role in ending Cold War.

Army bosses delete soldier's blog following posts criticizing superiors.

Video: Christopher Hitchens tries waterboarding (on himself).

Arthur, 5, is obsessed with the New York City subway system...He laughs at his mother when she suggests taking the B on a weekend. Two boys who love the subway.

Forget pedophiles: On sites like Webkinz, kids are the biggest threat to each other.

A new way to retrieve your forgotten password: Take a personality test.

The history of the SOS signal, which turns 100 years old today.

Walmart un-hyphenates its logo; Miller's new logo "unequivocally about beer."

Musicians read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, see their "infidelities glorified and justified in poetic form."

One of the terrors of dating is Milan Kundera, and specifically, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Slavic authors to read instead.

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Troop deaths in Afghanistan are at their highest since the invasion; evidence shows the Taliban has reclaimed some control.

U.S. reveals trust issues, aims spy satellites at the Iraqi army they arm, train, and fight alongside.

Satisfactory progress in Iraq is happening, though too slowly; blame is shifted to the Iraqis.

The improved security situation has allowed alcohol to flow back into Baghdad.

San Francisco protects Honduran crack dealers from federal officials; days later, the dealers escape from group homes.

Consumers are not diversifying their tastes as the Long Tail--aka the "sacred text in Silicon Valley"--suggests.

Anyone who suggests embarking on a cradle-to-grave narrative of a royal mistress goes to the back of the class. The end of the un-sensationalized biography?

David Sedaris on taking on The New Yorker's fact checkers.

"We just stopped playing, as we had done periodically since we got together." After a 17-year hiatus, the Feelies return.

Though Abkhazia is "under constant threat of war" and foreigners aren't allowed to visit, building hotels today will help it become a tourist hotspot tomorrow.

A breakdown of the bevy of nonrefundable fees on an airline ticket.

Italy launches international manhunt for Japanese students who left graffiti on a cathedral terrace.

"Shroom" study reveals lasting effects, including increased well-being and life satisfaction.

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Microsoft announced plans to buy Powerset, a promising search start-up, that focuses on "natural-language search," a form of artificial intelligence that seeks to understand the meaning of both user queries and Web pages.

Republicans should blame cyclical lows, not Obama, if he presides over billion-dollar deficit.

Support Obama: Change your middle name to "Hussein" on Facebook.

In Turkey, two former generals arrested in failed coup; secular court may ban ruling party for Islamist leanings.

For a planetoid of the size of Azeroth one would expect to see gravity of about 0.003 m/s2 or, in the vernacular, buggerall. Calculating the size of World of Warcraft.

In transporting accident, 12 million bees released along major Canadian highway.

Audio: Baby crocodiles communicate with mother and siblings from within their shells.

Cabs installed with karaoke flourish in Thailand.

"Paraguayans cry when they hear it." U.S. diplomat sings folk songs in obscure Paraguayan language, wins the country's heart.

Op: Tibet should stay the nonviolent course--it retains its moral appeal, and violence hasn't worked for the Palestinians.

Photos: The Google sari.

In an era of increasing fuel, food prices, vertical farming in cities makes new sense.

The franc is reintroduced in one French town, encouraging spending, national identity.

Poster designs from the May '68 Paris Rebellion.

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Obama delivers speech defending his, McCain's patriotism.

Obama appeals to faith-based groups, wants to expand funding, supports their ability to hire based on religion.

Sex in the Warner toons was more likely to be transgressive and connected to deception, especially cross-dressing. Billy Collins on Surrealism and Looney Tunes.

Advice on writing screenplays, including "avoid the German funk trap."

Chuck Klosterman asks 20-something Germans to pick the most interesting 20th-century American.

In poll on America, a quarter of Canadians name Obama the most admirable politician in either country.

"This is something to look at, just like a painting." A new art installation features runners sprinting through the Tate.

Charades study proves English's subject-verb-object is a cultural construction.

Baby busts, shrinkage, lowest-low fertility: on the extinction of Europe.

New jug design makes for fresher milk, is better for the environment, and customers hate it.

Environmental crises you no longer need to worry about.

As always, tipping back in your seat is fifty dollars, payable to the person sitting behind you. New flight restrictions on my airline.

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A radical new idea could save the world’s ecosystems. But what will it do to the economy?

Twelve things America's next president can do on day one to improve America's standing.

Clark: Getting shot down in a plane doesn't make McCain qualified to be president.

Measuring the appeal of New York's new "Waterfalls" in terms of web parody.

Waterfalls are supposed to be Nature's most spectacularly wild destinations, yet on the East River, they're tame to a fault.

Urban birds strain their voices singing, damage their hearing, have trouble attracting mates.

Why catchphrases, even when they're used ironically, ought to be "thrown under the bus."

Swift-boat veterans would like to remember the soldiers they lost, not some political smear.

Though he was originally fond of Barack Obama, the weekly meetings of the University Democrats made Tom increasingly Baracktose intolerant.

Meet Teodoro Obiang: Africa's worst dictator, leader of "the Switzerland of dictatorships."

Meet a terrorist sketch artist.

As self-help finds fans in Iran, The Secret tops best-seller lists.

Zadie Smith on Kafka: We are all insects now.

Foreign Policy's top 100 public intellectuals; the chosen put in their own votes.

Perceived differences between tap and bottled water found to be almost entirely due to marketing.

On phantom sensations, or literally how to scratch an itch that's in your brain.

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Fascinating, frightening report on al Qaeda's rebirth in Pakistan.

In the course of the election campaigns of recent years, he's been arrested 32 times. After the election, Zimbabwe counts victims.

Mugabe joins African Union summit; Tsvangirai: "He wants to keep power for himself until he drops dead."

Local government budgets across the country crippled by energy prices, too.

Brain study finds happy thoughts may dampen cravings; article doesn't mention what happens if thoughts are about source of cravings.

Your brain knows what you're going to do 10 seconds before telling you about it.

In 1923 a theoretical tome listed 88 different theories of humour, few of which seemed to acknowledge that it is supposed to be enjoyable.

Video: Where the hell is Matt? Dancing all over the place.

When to wear sunscreen: pretty much always.

"To create girls of strong character," a mission as unimpeachable as it is vague. First American Girl movie hits theaters this weekend.

A New Wave mixtape to come out to (but are any of its songs 2:42?).

On the worship of the goddess-sisters Bhagavati and the Virgin Mary in Southern India.

Tired of peddling you celebrities in print, Bonnie Fuller--maven behind US Weekly, Star, and Glamour--to go digital.

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Neo-conservatives "apoplectic" over Condoleezza Rice's emerging North Korea deal.

There's a guy running for president who knows who Jay-Z is. What's on Obama's iPod?

People holding degrees from Harvard or Yale...constitute 83 percent of the presidential nominees of the past 20 years.

Ivy League schools are teaching students to be "excellent sheep" who cater to the status quo.

Spanish Parliament approves "human rights" for apes.

Protected red-winged blackbirds go on spree of attacks in Chicago; citizens advised to "stare back into its eyes."

North Pole projected to be ice-free this summer.

How Haagen-Dazs really does depend on the bumblebee to make ice cream.

Video: If American Apparel had TV ads, they'd be like this; and like this, they wouldn't be safe for work.

Op: So what's so bad about having a pregnancy pact, anyway?

Americans lose jobs in the U.K., where a third of people believe the U.S. is a "force for evil."

Taipei skyscraper contains "earthquake bell" to act as a counterweight against seismic shifts.

Video: Another "public freezing" incident, this time in a Taco Bell.

No Country for Raising Arizona: Scene similarities between Coen Brothers' movies.

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Citizens of voting age without an inked finger...will be regarded as traitors and subject to reprisals. It's election day in Zimbabwe.

Interviews with former Mugabe henchmen reveal young men motivated by the fear that they'll be the next victim.

Supreme Court rules rifle and pistol bans are unconstitutional; few changes are expected outside of D.C., but expect local litigation.

Op: Obama may not be able to sway the evangelical vote, but he's doing the work to lessen its opposition.

Pyongyang televises its sincerity, demolishing its main nuclear reactor's cooling tower.

Analysis: Bush reversed on N. Korea, but won't credit at home for the diplomatic win--likely the last of his presidency.

He had the grace of Gollum as he quarreled with his questioners. Cheney's chief of staff dragged, kicking into the sunlight.

"Part of the problem with perfectionism is that by nature, you're always failing." As Mad Men returns, a nine-year journey ends.

A photo tour of Olso's Vigeland Sculpture Park, where human birth, life, and death is set to stone.

After a daycare begins fining late parents, parents arrive even later--it became "another commodity they could purchase."

On managing 20-somethings and their needs.

Audio clips and stories from octogenarian working professionals.

Today is Bill Gates's last day at Microsoft.

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"The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass...in a horror version of Weekend With Bernie, handcuffed to a corpse." Republicans endorse Obama.

On the incredibly intricate wiretapping legislation that passed today, and why it's worse than you think.

Nicaraguan leftists fight to reclaim the sombrero as a political symbol.

Crafting the "Dream Prius": the secret subculture of "ecomodding."

There are more semicolons in the New York Review of Books personals than balls in a gay bar.

Video: Honda's Asimo robot directs the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Internet to loosen regulations on domain names, presenting huge opportunity for "cybersquatters" to buy up valuable URLs.

In China, netizens mob against immoral bloggers, humiliate them, have them arrested.

Maggie Mason's guide to the best sporks on the internet.

Early paper-and-pen concept sketches for web apps like Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo.

Tarantino "a real happy dude" after finishing script for new "in-your-face" WWII movie.

New laws result in adults afraid to talk to children for fear of pedophilia labeling.

Video: "Thou shalt not think any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a pedophile, some people are just nice."

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Siding with Facebook in a long-running legal battle, a federal judge in San Jose late Wednesday rejected a bid by founder Mark Zuckerberg's longtime adversaries to reopen a recent confidential settlement in a case.

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock defended their decision to do a business deal with Google in a Wednesday letter seeking shareholder support in a proxy battle with activist investor Carl Icahn.

Supreme Court rules that the line of execution drops somewhere between treason and child rape.

Also yesterday, the Court ended two decades of litigation, deciding Exxon owes $500 million--of what was once $5 billion--for the Valdez spill.

Pending the verification of nuclear documents, the U.S. is set to remove N. Korea from terror list.

In his own way, Dr. No was something of a pioneer in nuclear energy. McCain calls Obama the "Dr. No" of energy policy.

The candidates offered hope for a new political discourse--instead it's the same old, negative campaigning.

Seeking to reverse the beard's reputation in Japan, Shick and Braun educate on what beards look like--and how to trim them.

M.T.A. drops free lifetime passes for board members, holds firm they did nothing illegal.

In this week's digital ramble, Rosecrans Baldwin detects acts of culture jamming.

Halfway through its summer blockbusters, Hollywood reflects on what's selling, and what movie about killer trees is not.

The entire Nuyorican Poets Cafe movement emerged from a back pocket in Patti's black jeans. Moody on Smith.

Troy McClure's résumé.

From 2003, Matthew Baldwin explains the 10 steps to crafting a bulletproof résumé.

Kermit Love, co-creator of Big Bird, other Muppets, dies at age 91.

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Siding with Facebook in a long-running legal battle, a federal judge in San Jose late Wednesday rejected a bid by founder Mark Zuckerberg's longtime adversaries to reopen a recent confidential settlement in a case.

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock defended their decision to do a business deal with Google in a Wednesday letter seeking shareholder support in a proxy battle with activist investor Carl Icahn.

"We cannot allow politics to affect the cheetahs." U.N. joins Iran in efforts to save the endangered Asiatic cheetah.

An interactive map of where journalists were killed in 2008.

City noise isn't just making us anxious, it's literally killing us.

Blogger questioned by F.B.I. after posting tracks from long-awaited, unreleased Guns N' Roses album.

Times Square's Naked Cowboy street busker sues after being depicted as an M&M on billboard.

"The heart wants what it wants." The true story of a dog in love with a ram.

Chicago map of important Obama events, including where he first kissed Michelle and where he curls free weights.

How-to wiki on throwing high-fives, with videos.

In Dubai, plans for a skyscraper that "rotates, moves, and changes shape," generating its own electricity.

Designer builds origami V12 engine.

"I thought I knew root beer," she sighed. A tasting panel of root beer connoisseurs rate the best brands.

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Yahoo's shares turned manic-depressive Tuesday, rising more than 10 percent and falling almost as much after a closely watched technology blogger reported that the search giant and Microsoft had reopened merger talks, which was quickly denied.